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Freedom, critical theory, and personal relations Aarin Trimble (24304088) PUREID: 692768875 freedom social freedom Axel Honneth Republicanism critical theory personal relations non-domination In Freedom’s Right, Axel Honneth began a project to develop a comprehensive account of ‘social freedom’ using the work of Hegel as his model. He outlined how we can achieve this idiosyncratic form of freedom through our institutional relationships with others within three spheres: personal relationships, the market and the democratic public sphere. This thesis develops this project further by offering a more holistic account of social freedom and by homing in on one of Honneth’s three spheres, namely that of personal relationships. <br><br>Unlike much of Frankfurt School critical theory, Honneth’s work has recognised the importance of our most intimate relationships to living a free life. His account of social freedom shows how our personal relationships (friendships, romantic relationships and the family) can allow for mutual self-realisation through the unconditional acceptance and fulfilment of our emotional needs and desires. Yet whilst Honneth has provided a good starting point for an account of free personal relationships, his work does not do enough to critique existing social relations, does not adequately show how social freedom can be furthered within this sphere. <br><br>This thesis argues that Honneth’s account can be developed in several ways. Firstly, through providing a more explicit identification of the interrelationship between the spheres of social freedom and by developing this as a means of critiquing contemporary society. Secondly, by supplementing Honneth’s autonomy-focussed concept of social freedom with neo-republicanism’s protective emphasis on freedom as non-domination, both understood as complimentary aspects of social freedom. Finally, Honneth’s account can be supplemented by using Rahel Jaeggi’s practice-oriented critique of ‘forms of life’ to identify the ways in which social freedom is threatened and can be advanced in contemporary personal relationships. Doing so provides a holistic account of social freedom in our personal relationships, vindicating Honneth’s key insights into the concept of freedom, whilst also furthering his account of social freedom as it applies to this sphere.<br><br><i>Thesis embargoed until 31st December 2031</i><br> 2026-10-01T16:11:43Z Text Thesis 10.17034/32825522.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Freedom_critical_theory_and_personal_relations/32825522 All Rights Reserved Open Access after 2031-12-31